
Origins of the Nuu
Archaeology in the Mixteca Alta, Mexico
Stephen A. Kowalewski(Editor)
University Press of Colorado
Published on 13. June 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
552 pages
978-1-60732-103-3 (ISBN)
Description
Combining older findings with new data on 1,000 previously undescribed archaeological sites, Origins of the Nuu presents the cultural evolution of the Mixteca Alta in an up-to-date chronological framework.The nuu - the kingdoms of the famous Mixtec codices - are traced back through the Postclassic and Classic periods to their beginnings in the first states of the Terminal Formative, revealing their origin, evolution, and persistence through two cycles of growth and collapse. Challenging assumptions that the Mixtec were peripheral to better-known peoples such as the Aztecs or Maya, the book asserts that the nuu were a major demographic and economic power in their own right.
Older explanations of multiregional or macroregional systems often portrayed civilizations as rising in a cradle or hearth and spreading outward. New macroregional studies show that civilizations are products of more complex interactions between regions, in which peripheries are not simply shaped by cores but by their interactions with multiple societies at varying distances from major centers. Origins of the Nuu is a significant contribution to this emerging area of archaeological research.
Older explanations of multiregional or macroregional systems often portrayed civilizations as rising in a cradle or hearth and spreading outward. New macroregional studies show that civilizations are products of more complex interactions between regions, in which peripheries are not simply shaped by cores but by their interactions with multiple societies at varying distances from major centers. Origins of the Nuu is a significant contribution to this emerging area of archaeological research.
Reviews / Votes
"This volume is a major contribution to Mesoamerican archaeology that every scholar will want to read for the vital information it provides on regional state development and population integration. It will be used and referenced by generations of archaeologists interested in cultural development in the Mixteca Alta and its broader role in the emergence of economic and religious institutions throughout Mesoamerica."-Kenneth Hirth, Journal of Anthropological Research
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Colorado
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
762 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-60732-103-3 (9781607321033)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr. Stephen A. Kowalewski is a professor of anthropology at the University of Georgia and has done fieldwork in the Southwest, Georgia, and Mexico. The other authors are highly experienced archaeologists participating in the biggest single archaeological survey project in Mesoamerica, hold various teaching and research positions, and continue their fieldwork in the Mixteca Alta as well as other areas.